Royal Historical Society Studies in History – serie

A study of clerical reaction to the sizeable number of Catholics who outwardly conformed to Protestantism in late 16c England. An important and satisfying monograph... Many insights emerge from this rich and original study, whichwhets the appetite for more. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW [Diarmaid MacCulloch]`Church Papist' was a nickname, a term of abuse, for those English Catholics who outwardly conformed to the established Protestant Church and yet inwardly remained Roman Catholics. The more dramatic stance of recusancy has drawn historians' attention away from this sizeable, if statistically indefinable, proportion of Church of England congregations, but its existence and significance is here clearly revealed through contemporary records, challenging the sectarian model of post-Reformation Catholicism perpetuated by previous historians. Alexandra Walsham explores the aggressive reaction of counter-Reformation clergy to the compromising conduct of church papists and the threat theyposed to Catholicism's separatist image; alongside this she explains why parish priests simultaneously condoned qualified conformity. This scholarly and original study thus draws into focus contemporary clerical apprehensions andanxieties, as well as the tensions caused by the shifting theological temper ofthe late Elizabethan and early Stuart church.ALEXANDRA WALSHAM is Lecturer in History at the University of Exeter.

A study of the impact of urbanisation on organised religion in Croydon in the Victorian and Edwardian era.Drawing upon detailed local sources, Dr Morris's study of the town and suburbs of Croydon concentrates on the impact of urbanisation upon the development of Victorian and Edwardian organised religion. The book addresses in particular the origins and form of what has been described as the decline of organised religion in England, pinpointing the difficulties inherent in previous attempts to account for this phenomenon. In his search for an explanation, Dr Morris argues that it is appropriate to study the local tensions and conflicts which engrossed the attention of the churches in this period, the religious beliefs and activities of the middle classes who composed the broad mass ofchurch membership, and the activities and divisions of the urban elites who were most influential in the churches' management. Finally he examines the role of reformed local government in redefining the sphere within which churchaction was deemed to be effective.